Cars: Race-O-Rama
Cars: Race-O-Rama is a racing game that was released on October 12, 2009. It is the sequel to Cars: Mater-National, which was released on October 27, 2007. The PSP and DS versions of the game were created by Tantalus Media in Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia. A toy line for the release was released in early 2009, as the name "Race O Rama" was used for the 3rd series of Mattel Die-Cast Disney Cars. This is the last Disney/Pixar video game published by THQ as well as the last game to be published by any other company except Disney Interactive. Gameplay and Plot In the game, players race against new characters through action-packed tracks to win the Race-O-Rama trophy as their own personalized Lightning McQueen. Players can join Lightning McQueen in Radiator Springs as he prepares the Doc Hudson's racing academy of student racers for the Race-O-Rama competition. Lightning finds out that his rival Chick Hicks has his own set of academy student racers who don't always compete fairly (as shown during the crashing of two of Doc's students during the intro race). Lightning decided to customizes himself for the four different races: Off-road racing, street racing, beach racing, and speedway racing. After McQueen beats Stinger, Candice, and El Machismo, Chick reveals in the final race that he was only using them to learn how to beat Lightning and customize himself. After Chick loses the race, he vows his revenge on McQueen by saying that he'll come after him when he least expects it and drives away in anger. Then, Candice, El Machismo, and Stinger apologize to McQueen for the way they acted. McQueen accepts their apology and tells them that they're welcome to stop by the academy anytime. Characters Returning From the Film * Lightning McQueen (Regular, Monster Truck, Beach Racing, Street Racing, Off-Road Racing, & Speedway) * Mater (Regular & Monster Truck) * Doc Hudson * Ramone * Flo * Sarge * Fillmore * Sheriff (Console Versions Only) * Luigi * Guido * Chick Hicks (Regular & Upgraded) * Mia and Tia * Mike * Sulley * Not Chuck * Fred From Past Games * Tommy Joe * Lewis * Cletus * Zeke * The Crippler * Ginormous * Count Spatula * Emma (Handheld versions only) New Characters Candice Candice is one of Chick's proteges and the first one Lightning races against in Santa Carburera, as well as the only one who is female. She has a very spoiled, selfish attitude. When Chick introduces her to Lightning before the race, she is shown to be more popular with paparazzis than Lightning. Despite supposedly being promised by her daddy that she would beat Lightning, she did not, so she calls him and asks for "new tires, new paint, new... everything, and I want it NOW!" Her dad agreed to her request and she leaves to go shopping. On the Nintendo DS and PSP versions of the game, at one point during the final race, Candice can be seen getting her picture taken and the flash from the camera ends up blinding the player. After the final race, she decides to apologize to Lightning for her behavior during the races and admits that she prefers his way of racing, "Even though it takes the spotlight off of me." Lightning accepts the apology and invites her to come to the Doc Hudson Racing Academy anytime. El Machismo El Machismo is another one of Chicks' proteges and the second one Lightning races against in Autovia. He is an arrogent Monster Truck who speaks in third person a lot and he copies Lightning's motto (I'm bigger than big, I'm badder than bad!). He is also shown to be a sore loser, even more so than Chick, when he blames Chick and the MotorCo. Company for him losing to Lightning. On the handheld versions of the game, during the final race, he will try to ram into Lightning. Like Candice, he learns the errors of his ways and decides to apologize for his behavior to Lightning, considering his way of racing, "Badder than bad, faster than fast." This gets him invited to join the Doc Hudson Academy too. Stinger Stinger is another one of Chick's proteges. He is the third and final one Lightning faces in Motoropolis City. Ramone describes him as "the strong, silent type" due to him not talking much. He mostly communicates by revving his engine. He eventually loses the race, much to Chick's anger, who was sure he would win, due to him being a muscle car. Chick asks what he had to say for himself, but Stinger says nothing, instead drives away in anger. Like Candice and El Machismo, Stinger also plays a trick on Lightning during the final race on the handheld versions. He will come onto the track and spill oil, potentially causing Lightning to slip. He also apologizes to Lightning after the race and gets invited to the Doc Hudson Academy. He still retains his silent attitude, though, as shown when he revs his engine after Candice tries encouraging him to say, "Thank you." Doc Hudson's Students Doc Hudson's Students are a group of four students who attend the Doc Hudson Racing Academy. They race alongside Lightning McQueen, learning the different techniques and movements for racing. All four students are painted blue and have the same model, but they each have different modifications and paint jobs. For example, Doc Hudson Student 1 has a white stripe down the middle and a small spoiler on his rear window, while Doc Hudson Student 2 has three stripes on each of his sides; one white, one gray and one black, and a big, black spoiler. Each of the four students are playable on most consoles, but the PlayStation 2 only allows players to play as the first one. Also, since Student 4 does not appear in any races, he does not appear at all on the PlayStation 2. Chick Hicks' Students Chick Hicks' Students are a group of four cars who attend the Chick Hicks Racing Academy. They learn from Chick the different techniques of racing, but the way of racing they are taught is rather dirty as shown when they bump into a couple of Doc's students at the beginning of the game. They are later seen speeding around Radiator Springs after the round in Santa Carburera until Sheriff pulls them over. Like Doc's Students, they all have the same model, as well as the same modifications and paint jobs as each of their counterparts, except their main color is green instead of blue. Also, all four students are playable except on the PlayStation 2, in which only the first student is playable. VINs After being beaten by Lightning in Santa Carburera, most of Chick's other students decide to turn themselves into these super techno-equiped cars called VINs at the MotorCo. Factory in order to beat him in Autovia and Motoropolis City. The main four students, however, remain in their original forms. The modifications fail to work, though, as Lightning is still beating them. The VINs speak in a robotic way and say a lot of robotic words, like "The numbers compute," which begins to annoy Lightning towards the final round. Bubba Bubba is the secondary antagonist in the game. He is a big, mean tow truck who, along with his sidekicks, Tater and Tater Jr., made a deal with Mater many years ago to have a race in the Rustbucket Stadium for the towing rights to Radiator Springs. Mater eventually forgets about this until Bubba returns to Radiator Springs one day and reminds him. Near the end of the game, the four tow trucks have the race, which Mater wins, much to Bubba's anger. He drives away in frustration, vowing his revenge. Bubba can be played as in Circuit Races, Relay Races, Auto Crosses and Missions on most consoles, but the PlayStation 2 limits him to Rust Bucket Derby. Bubba previously appears in Hoodwinked, a story in the book, World of Cars, where he takes Mater's hood and plays around with it after Mater and his cousins fish it out of a lake. Mater tries to get it back, but he does not manage to do so until after Red uses his hose to get it unstuck from a tree which Bubba threw it in. Later, Bubba challenges Mater to a race. Mater decides to have them race backwards since he knew Bubba was not good at that skill, and wins the race after Bubba spins out. Tater and Tater Jr. Tater and Tater Jr. are two tow trucks who are Bubba's sidekicks. Unlike Bubba, they are friendly and a little goofy, like Mater. Over time, the Taters slowly became friends with Mater, especially after finding out that their names rhyme. Like Bubba, they also lose the race for the towing rights, but they were not as bothered. They claim that since their new friend, Mater, won the race and has a name that rhymes with theirs, they feel like winners too. Like Bubba, they are playable in other event types on most consoles, but can only be played in Rust Bucket Derby races on the PlayStation 2. Doc Hudson Pitty Doc Hudson Pitty is a blue forklift who races for the Doc Hudson Racing Academy in the Race-O-Rama Series in the Guido Kart races, which are races designed for smaller cars to race in. He might also be a member of a supposed pit crew for Doc Hudson and his students. Chick Hicks Pitty Chick Hicks Pitty is a green forklift who races for the Chick Hicks Racing Academy in the Race-O-Rama Series. He races in the Guido Kart races along with other forklifts and smaller cars. He is shown to be incredibly rude, just like Chick and his allies, often shouting insults and trash talk to the other racers. MotorCo. Pitty MotorCo. Pitty is a white forklift who races in the Guido Kart races, along with the other forklifts and smaller cars, for Chick Hicks. Like the VINs, he speaks in a robotic voice and says robotic words, though his voice is deeper than that of the former. He also supposedly works at the MotorCo. factory. Doc Hudson Pitty, Chick Hicks Pitty and MotorCo. Pitty all share the same model as Not Chuck, Luke Pettlework, Hugo Fast and the die-cast version of Dudley Spare. Trophy Girl Trophy Girl (also known as Race-O-Rama Girl) is a showgirl for the Race-O-Rama Series. She usually appears in the Guido Kart races and is the only female character who does so, but she can also compete in regular races as well, like Luigi, except on the PlayStation 2. She, along with another Trophy Girl, make an appearance after the final race when Candice, Stinger and El Machismo apologize to Lightning. Her design is similar to that of the Dinoco Girls. The main differences are that she is yellow with an orange feathered hat that has the "Race-O-Rama" logo, while the Dinoco Girls are blue with blue feathered hats that have the "Dinoco" logo. Troy Brakeman Troy Brakeman is the announcer for the Race-O-Rama series. He can be heard doing announcements before and during the races, though he never makes a physical appearance. However, on the Nintendo DS version of the game, a promo of Bob Cutlass from Cars is used to represent him in the cut-scenes, hinting that he might look similar. Trivia * This is the first game in the Cars franchise of the following: ** The first game where Lightning McQueen's body parts can be customized, rathern than just his paint job and tires. ** The first game where the open world environment is not limted to Radiator Springs, Onrnament Valley and Tailfin Pass. ** The first game where each races has eight racers (with the exception of the PlayStation 2 version, which has four racers). ** The first game to feature Guido as a playable character. ** The first and only game where Not Chuck appears. ** The first game not to be released on the PC or GameBoy Advance. ** The first game in which the players can unlock paint jobs and other bonus content by winning events or reaching specific point levels. ** The first game not to feature Lizzie, Snot Rod or any of the characters from the first two games. ** The first game not to feature any of the music from the first two games. ** The first game in which players can explore Sarge's SUV Boot Camp in Story Mode. ** The first game in which the players can now drift instead of powersliding. ** The first game in which Mater does not appear on the cover. ** The first game in which Radiator Springs never appears at nighttime. * The PlayStation 2 version of the game has a lot of differences compared to the game on other consoles: ** The game on most consoles has eight racers in each race (with the exception of the Monster Truck Races which has six), while there are only four on the PlayStation 2. ** When players want to go from Radiator Springs to Ornament Valley or Tailfin Pass and back, they normally do not have to wait for each area to load, but they do on the PlayStation 2, like in past games. This results in there being only two Point to Point races instead of five since three of them each cover two of the locations. Also, the tourists and other cars do not travel from one of the three locations to another like on other consoles. The advantage on other consoles, however, allows players to view the Wheel Well Motel from behind the Radiator Cap Mountain. ** Most consoles allow the player to play as any of the eight students, but the PlayStation 2 only allow them to play as the first ones from each academy. ** Relay Races usually consist of four teams with three racers, but on the PlayStation 2, it is two teams of two. As a result, players are guaranteed to win regardless of which position they come in. ** Some paint jobs, kit parts, and pieces of concept art are missing on the PlayStation 2. ** Sarge is playable in Rust Bucket Derby races on the PlayStation 2, but not on other consoles. ** Doc Student 4, Fred, Lewis, Count Spatula, and Ginormous are completely absent on the PlayStation 2. * Race-O-Rama features three mini games which are similar to mini-games from Cars: The Video Game; Luigi's Tire Find, Sheriff's Chase and Tractor Stampede, which are similar to Luigi to the Rescue, Sheriff's Hot Pursuit and Tractor Tipping respectively. * The game features a Circuit Race called "Street Race 1." However, there is no "Street Race 2," so it is unknown why the number 1 is in the name. The same goes for "Luigi's Tire Find 1," though the PlayStation 2 version leaves the 1 out of the name. * In the opening scene, the game's title appears on a starting line, which is similar to how the Cars logo appears on the starting line in the film. * The Nintendo DS and PSP versions of the game have El Machismo and Stinger's boss levels swapped and only fifteen playable characters. Also, Mater's subplot is omitted. 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